1. Technical Field
Certain embodiments of this disclosure relate to detecting an instance of a program.
2. Description of the Related Technology
Even with increased interest and focus on security and the efforts of organizations to thwart external threats to critical systems, much of Information Technology (IT) security breaches and identity thefts occur behind an organization's firewall. When a user or administrator logs on with access rights, as many applications require, any program that is running—including web browsers, e-mail clients, and instant messaging programs—may also have system access. This system access can allow malicious software to manipulate services such as antivirus programs without detection by the operating system.
It therefore can be desirable to control users' access rights to certain programs. On some operating systems, however, such as certain versions of Microsoft Windows®, it can be difficult or impossible to control access to a customized set of programs. The reason for this lack of control is based at least in part on Windows'® user account system. Windows® provides administrator and non-administrator accounts. Users who have administrative privileges can generally access most or all programs on a computer. Non-administrators cannot install many types of programs, and many programs will not run in non-administrator mode. As a result, non-administrator accounts can be more secure than administrator accounts. However, options for configuring individual program access on non-administrator accounts can be limited or cumbersome to use. Making users non-administrators to improve security may therefore not be feasible.